Had Shane van Gisbergen not secured his shocking NASCAR Cup victory at the Chicago Street Course last year, there was another potential surprise winner ready to step into the spotlight. Justin Haley, who also delivered a strong performance in that race, was poised to take advantage of the situation and claim the victory. Haley’s presence as a contender underscored the unpredictability and excitement of the race, highlighting the depth of talent within the NASCAR Cup Series field.
Justin Haley, who started last in the NASCAR Cup Series’ inaugural street race in Chicago last July, made a remarkable move into the lead with 30 laps remaining. With the race shortened due to impending darkness, Haley was in a strong position with enough fuel to finish. However, Shane van Gisbergen, a three-time Supercars champion making his Cup debut, passed Haley for the lead on a late-race restart and held him off in overtime to claim victory on the 2.2-mile, 12-turn course through the Grant Park area of downtown Chicago.
For Haley, that race marked his only top-five finish of the 2023 season, and had he finished one place higher, the victory could have dramatically altered his year.
Now, one year later, van Gisbergen is competing full-time in the Xfinity Series, where he has won a pair of road course races this season, and is running a partial Cup schedule in preparation for a full-time move to the series in 2025.
Meanwhile, Haley moved in the offseason to Rick Ware Racing, where he has helped lead a transformation, making the team a solid performer on a weekly basis.
With most of the Cup field now having street race experience heading into this Sunday’s Chicago race, Justin Haley believes the dynamics of this year’s event could be very different.
“I mean, obviously, SVG’s going to be quick, but you know, I don’t think he was lights out all weekend (last year),” Haley said. “Denny (Hamlin) got the pole last year and the teams will have definitely developed.
“And now that we’ve all done it once, I mean it’s just a road course with a little bit bigger risk factor if you do have an issue.
“He’s going to be quick again. I mean he’s done it his whole life. But I do believe or like to think that we would have caught up a little bit.”
Justin Haley noted that two factors played in Shane van Gisbergen’s favor last year – the unfamiliarity of the new venue for Cup drivers and the challenging weather conditions, which required the use of wet weather tires and ultimately led to the event being shortened.
“I’m more confident in just the situation as a whole, right? I think first practice, we were all a little nervous,” Haley said. “And uh, yeah, the rain throughout the weekend was definitely difficult. But yeah, your confidence level just goes up.
“You know, we get new tracks like North Wilkesboro and Iowa and it’s (still) just what you’ve done your whole life. Then you go to this, put the term ‘street circuit’ on it and have the concrete barriers super close and everything’s different.
“I just think logistically like kind of knowing where everything’s at and knowing how the process is, I think it’ll be more fluid this year for everyone.”
Currently 31st in the series standings, the 25-year-old native of Winamac, Indiana, has shown promise with a pair of top-10 finishes and four finishes of 13th or better in the last six races. Haley believes he can again be a contender in the series’ return to street racing.
“Hopefully, (the weather) is better this year, but I’m excited for it. I’m excited every week we go race right now,” he said.
“There are a few places where you go to a race track and you’re like, ‘Wow, this is like, this is sick,’ right? And I think, you know, when we all got there last year, we were pretty excited as an industry.
“It’s cool to kind of be downtown and be in the thick of it all.”